A Little History

For whatever reason, men and women have had an affinity with having hair-free skin. Maybe it was to separate us from our jungle-dwelling relatives. Unfortunately, the human body is covered with hundreds of thousands of hair follicles. Still, the goal has long been to get rid of the hair.

Ancient Egyptians used tweezers made from seashells to pluck every hair they could find, leaving only the eyebrows. Other methods with varying degrees of pain and risk were employed to get rid of the hair. To be hair-free was a signal of status.

Fortunately for you, laser hair removal makes getting rid of unwanted hair easier than ever. And Romeo & Juliette is the place to do it.

The first lasers for hair removal

It’s odd to think of a scientist developing a laser to get rid of hair when the Defense Department was trying to develop them into super weapons. But Theodore H. Maiman developed the first laser designed to destroy not Russians, but hair follicles on July 7, 1960. The ruby laser Maiman developed was slow and in accurate. It did minimize hair growth, but it could severely burn the skin. Plus, the ruby laser could only target a few hair follicles at one time making the process glacial at best.

The alexandrite laser was developed in the 1970s. Although alexandrite lasers didn’t burn the skin as ruby lasers did, they also didn’t deliver enough energy to fully destroy the hair follicles. Achieving true hair reduction would take years and dozens of appointments.

The YAG laser was approved by the FDA for hair removal in 1964 but is also was unable to create permanent removal. Then in 1983 scientists developed a laser that utilized a pulse duration to target the hair follicle. This pulse delivery allowed the laser to target the melanin in the hair and damage the follicle without damaging the skin.

Today, there are a variety of lasers used for permanent hair removal. In fact, at Romeo & Juliette Laser Hair Removal, we have seven different lasers for the job. Each has different characteristics that can address hair color, skin pigmentation, and other variables.

That’s why Romeo & Juliette is the only place you need to go for your laser hair removal. Our expertise and technology are the finest you’ll find. Call us at 212-750-2000 for an appointment.